She was educated at Malvern Girls' College in Worcestershire and Trinity College Dublin where she studied for a BA degree in French and Italian, but was heavily involved in drama productions at the time. Her father, André van Gyseghem was a Belgian actor and director, and her mother, Jean Forbes-Robertson an actress. Her maternal grandparents were the actors Gertrude Elliott and Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson and her great-aunt was American actress Maxine Elliott.
Van Gyseghem appeared in the TV series Fraud Squad as Detective Sergeant Hicks in 1969–70. In 1972, she played Olivia in Twelfth Night; Punch commented on her performance "veering from intimations of imperiousness to anticipations of lechery with great charm and fine technical control".[1] In 1977, she appeared in two episodes of the drama series Secret Army in which she played Dorothy Neville. The episodes; "Lost Sheep" and "Guilt" were both written by N.J. Crisp.
She also played Linda Cochran in the television sitcom Duty Free[2] and Marigold Featherstone, wife of Guthrie Featherstone, QC, MP, in Rumpole of the Bailey.[3] She also co-starred with Liza Goddard in London Weekend Television's television comedy Pig in the Middle as Susan Wade, the controlling wife of the principal character Barty Wade played by Dinsdale Landen.[4]
Van Gyseghem had a guest role in the British sitcom Barbara. She played the role of Yvonne, an ex-girlfriend of Barbara's (Gwen Taylor) husband Ted, who visits from Miami to attend the wedding in the episode "Wedding". Yvonne takes a romantic interest in Ted; Van Gyseghem thus played Taylor's love rival, as she had done in Duty Free.[5]
In 1964 Van Gyseghem married actor Ralph Bates whom she met at university and starred alongside in many dramatic productions. The couple had one child together but divorced in 1973.[6] Her hobbies have included playing the piano, dancing, painting and making jewellery.
Notes
↑ Henry Mayhew, Mark Lemon, Tom Taylor, eds., Punch vol. 263 (1972), p. 122
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